Brethren Christian is an underdog for multiple reasons in its first-round playoff game in the CIF-Southern Section East Valley Division.

Not only do the Warriors have to make a two-hour drive to face Shadow Hills of Indio on Friday night, but they are also seemingly out of place against the Knights.

Brethren Christian has a student enrollment of around 250, while Shadow Hills has more than 1,600.

“It’s peculiar that we’re in the same division, but we can’t worry about that,” Brethren coach Pat McInally said.

“They have big kids and some athletes that are really fast. We’re going to have to do well on the offensive line and on defense to stop their running game.”

For the drive, the Warriors have a plan. They’ll get to Indio in the early afternoon and rent out a local hotel conference room to meet, have a meal and prepare for the game.

Distance and enrollment aren’t the only things that separate the two schools. Even though they’ve both seen each other on film, there is also the issue of unfamiliarity. Both teams likely won’t get a true sense of what they’re up against until they take the field Friday night.

“That’s the beauty of the playoffs,” said Shadow Hills coach Ron Shipley. “We don’t get out that way very often and they don’t get out here very often. We’ll have to wait to see how the game unfolds.”

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